~Brielle
I’ve never been so afraid of Ren until this moment.
When we were stuck down at the bottom of his basement, listening in to a conversation we shouldn’t have, I wasn’t as afraid as I am. Whatever had possessed Ren that night hadn’t noticed us. Now here I am, locked in a small room with Ren, completely at his mercy. And with the look on his face, I don’t think he’s very happy.
Slowly, I step away from the door, obeying his commands. I’m not about to get on the bad side of my Alpha. My fate might be similar to Charlie’s, or I’ll be kicked off this island with no quite enough money to escape this Pack.
Ren doesn’t move, sitting behind his desk, watching me as I take my seat back where I was. His gaze is hot and unrelenting.
I’m truly dead.
“I’m not done talking about this,” Ren says slowly, as if he’s assuming I’m too foolish to understand. Or maybe he is worried I’m going to make a run for it. I’m considering it. “It is important for me to know everything that you do. I’m not going to find out who hurt Charlie otherwise.”
I go to open my mouth to speak, but I’m not sure what I should say. I’m glad he is taking this case with Charlie so seriously, however, I’m still scared. What is with him?
“I don’t know. Some girls were talking about a guy named Chase. Maybe he did it,” I say simply, trying to divert his attention from me without pinning the blame on someone else. He must know his diary has been stolen.
Maybe he knows I took it.
“What have you heard about him?” Ren questions. As he says it I swear I see his blue eye flares brightly. It was only for a second and I assume it was just my imagination. I’m not sure why his green eye seems so much warmer than the blue one, as if some kind of dark secret hides behind it.
I shrug. “Not much. All I know is people think he hurt her. That’s it. And also maybe that you know who he is.”
I’m not sure what compelled me to say that. Ren blinks a few times, and I can tell I’ve just exposed him. I shouldn't have. Now he will surely be all the more suspicious that I stole his diary.
“Regardless of whether I know him or not, just ensure you all stay in at night. Do not stray out. It’s dangerous. Even if we find out who did this, I suggest keeping everyone inside the room,” Ren tells me firmly.
I don’t like the sound of that. “But-”
“I mean it,” he says so sternly, it shocks me into submission. He doesn’t remove his gaze off me until I nod, murmuring my agreement. He’s taking this very seriously.
He seems to notice my cautious expression and lays off a bit. I watch him as he loosens a breathe and digs his hands into his hair. It’s so strange seeing him like this after the other night. In one situation he was cold, detached and emotionless. Here, he’s stressed, careful and thoughtful.
Like two different people.
All of a sudden, a thought came into my head. A dark thought. One that doesn’t make any particular sense, yet it seemed to fit so well. What if Ren is Chase? And what if Chase is Ren? What if he truly is two people. Chase being the demon that comes out at night...Just like all the rumours say.
No, that’s ridiculous. That’s not even in the realm of possibility. Ren might just have two personalities. Right now I don’t think he is faking this amount of stress. Even after seeing him reject that poor girl so callously, I was to reach out and hug him.
“We won’t go out at night anymore,” I assure him. “I’ll keep the girls safe.”
Ren’s shoulders relax slightly, and he looks after me, clearly grateful. “Thank you, Brielle. How is it that I can always trust you to be on my side.”
I smile tightly.
Finally, he allows me to leave, walking me to the door. It makes me anxious, but I’m assuming he has other things to say to me. I have so many questions for him. Like why did he need to suddenly go to the mainland when he never leaves this island? And how he knows Chase.
When I go to walk out the door, Ren stops me to whisper in my ear. “I don’t mean to keep things from you, but I don’t suggest prying into things. This place has a lot of secrets I don’t think you want to uncover.”
***
Ren’s words stuck with me for the rest of the day.
I didn’t see him much while I was working, which was a small mercy. According the itinerary, though, him and I are attending an event on the mainland. It’s a surprise trip that I’m cautious about, however, I have no other choice but to attend.
That night, I kept my word and made sure everyone stayed in the sleeping quarters. However, I couldn’t say the same about myself sticking around. In my defense, I can’t imagine staying this room any longer without the temptation of looking into Ren’s diary. Especially not when I’m spending the whole day with him tomorrow.
So I’m doing something worse. Naturally.
No one woke when I slipped on warmer clothes and slunk out of the room. It feels evil to go against Ren’s demands, but I have to do this. I need to see Charlie before she is taken back to the mainland.
The care room she sleeps in is filled with empty beds. No one else has been hurt in any time close to her. It’s only her that lays there, sleeping in the middle of the room.
Me switching the light on is enough to make her eyes open.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” I murmur, approaching her in her bed. She doesn’t flinch when she sees me, which gives hope that she isn’t so scarred from that night. Or the nights she endured before being found. She doesn’t smile though, just looks at me, eyes vacant, expression impassive.
“I wasn’t sleeping,” she assures me, as I gently sit down on the edge of her bed, careful not to touch her.
With all the blood cleaned off and bandages covering wounds, she looks in my better condition, at least. However, I can still see minor scratches and even patches on her head where hair has been pulled out. My stomach twists at the sight of it, but I try not to concentrate on it. Instead, I pay all my attention to her dark brown eyes which assess me warily.
“I’m sorry for what happened,” I say honestly. Ever since we found out she has been missing, we have all felt guilty. “We shouldn’t have left without you. And we should have come back for you.”
She closes her eyes, breathing in. The machine behind her ticks.
“Don’t apologise. I don’t blame you,” she tells me. Maybe she is just trying to be passive, but regardless, it makes me feel so much better. “It happened, it was my fault. What does it matter.”
I frown. “What do you mean it’s your fault? What happened?”
Her jaw clenches, and for a moment I thought she was going to shut off and not say any more. I’m not sure what I would do if she did that. I need to know if Ren did this to her. If he did, I have to get all these girls out of here before he hurts anymore people. He’s an Alpha, he’s capable of doing a lot of damage.
“I deserved it,” she whispered, looking down at the IV that is poked into her arm. I shake my head at her. Did she fall from somewhere maybe? Did she get lost and it got her hurt? I want all the answers.
“Tell me what happened,” I demand.
Charlie cringes. “It doesn’t matter. I deserved what he did to me. I shouldn’t have been in there. But none of you deserve it. You should leave so you can be safe.”
I frown. I knew there was someone else involved. Whether it is this Chase figure I read about in the diary, or whether it is about Ren. Either way I want to know everything, but I don’t want to scare her off.
“Why aren’t we safe? What’s going on?”
All of a sudden, Charlie grabs my arm in a tight grip. I’m surprised she has such a vice like grip when she is injured. However, I don’t pull away. In fact, I let her drag me close to her face, right up till her cut lip nearly touched my ear.
“Run. Get off this island. He’s dangerous, and if he doesn’t take you as his lover, he will kill you. And he’s going to come back and kill me,” Charlie says, voice shaking. A chill runs down my back.
“Who?” I question desperately. “Ren?”
“Not Ren Chase. He’s here. Run.”